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“You gotta have heart…” is more than just a karaoke favourite: it’s the mantra of the engineers developing the high-performance engines for Suzuki’s small vehicles. Take, for example, that hardworking team’s latest power plant, the M-series engine.  For
decades now, Suzuki has concentrated on the creation of small, highly functional
vehicles with visual appeal. Small vehicles are lightweight and consume fewer
resources in manufacturing, plus there’s significantly less waste when they
are finally discarded. Small vehicles can also be powered by small, lightweight
engines, which burn less fuel and emit less CO2. So what is the most important part of small-engine production? “That’s tough,” said Koji Yamada, leader of the Design Group II, Automobile Powertrain Design Dept. “Users of small vehicles have continually diversifying requirements. Unlike sports cars or luxury sedans, our small vehicles need a balanced range of qualities to satisfy every kind of user demand. And we’ve designed the M-series engines for the Liana to achieve that.” The M-series, Suzuki’s next-generation power unit, boasts high power and fuel efficiency, clean emissions, exceptionally quiet running and outstanding durability. As successor to the renowned G-series, the new engine has enhanced its predecessor’s fine attributes, especially in suppressing noise and vibration. “For greater rigidity throughout the powertrain, the crankshaft is supported by a semi-ladder-frame bearing cap using more joint bolts. Although today we employ highly advanced computer simulation techniques in engine design, the shape and size of those bolts, for example, has been determined through painstaking trials and continual improvement at the test site. In the Suzuki tradition, we really stress the on-the-spot trial data,” said Yamada.  With
engineering expertise fostered on the spot, all the details of the final engine
specifications are established, then manufacturing precision becomes the issue.
“Everything must be assessed in terms of automated mass production, which
requires absolutely controlled assembly operation. To maintain optimum fit between
piston rings and cylinder bores, for example, the bores should be as round as
possible. Under ordinary manufacturing methods, precision-machined cylinder bores
are minutely distorted, perhaps several microns, when the cylinder head is attached
by bolts. That distortion necessitates use of higher-tension piston rings, which
causes more friction loss.”“To prevent this, during bore finishing we employ a jig as a dummy head and gasket, to make the bore shape precisely the same as in actual use. In Suzuki, this kind of production step has usually been used only for racing-car engines, by hand-crafting. I believe that Suzuki is the first manufacturer to employ it in mass production for this kind of non-racing small engine.” “From stop-and-go commuting to motorway cruising, small vehicles have to come through for the driver,” said Yamada, “so we’re always striving to produce an engine you can count on in tough situations.” No wonder the Liana has “miles and miles of heart,” it has the M-series engine beating away with verve and precision, in all driving conditions. |
